Piece for two Marimbas

Item details

Composer and teacher. Born in Warsaw in 1953. He began to study music when he was 13 years old, first at the Oskar Kolberg primary Music School then at the F. Chopin Secondary Music School (double bass). Upon passing his secondary school leaving examination (matura) he studied natural philosophy at the Academy of Catholic Theology for one year (1975/76). Upon graduating from secondary music school in 1977 he began to study at the Department of Composition, Conducting and Theory of Music at the Fryderyk Chopin Academy of Music in Warsaw in Professor Marian Borkowski's class of composition which he finished with honours (1977-1982). He attended composer courses led by François Bernard Mâche (Pécs, Hungary 1980) and Yannis Xenakis (Salzburg, Delft 1985), obtained a SACEM scholarship from Sociéte des Compositeurs et Editeurs de Musique (France) and, as holder of an Acanthes scholarship, he attended a course in composition led by Olivier Messiaen in Avignon (France) in 1987.

Professor Marcin Błażewicz has been a member of the faculty of the AMFC in Warsaw since 1985, first as assistant then tutor (1996-2003) and finally as associate professor at the Chair of Composition. He teaches the following subjects: score reading and introduction to composition and instrumentation (his main interest). He has supervised many master's theses. He was deputy dean of FCUM Department I in 1999-2002 and 2005-2008. In 2008 he was elected dean of the Department of Composition, Conducting and Theory of Music for term 2008-2012.

Marcin Błażewicz presented a paper "On the situation in Polish Music after 1989" at the 5th Biennial "La recherche musicale en Europa" (Gif-sur-Yvette, France 1992). He has organised more than 200 concerts propagating contemporary music including several cycles: Presentation of Young Composers, Encounters with Contemporary Music, Young Musicians for Young Audiences (Warsaw 1979-81). Artistic director and founder of the International New Music Forum festival (Warsaw 1983-87), artistic director of the International Festival "Jeunesses Musicales" (Częstochowa, 1986, Warsaw 1990). Co-founder of the Modus group (1983), music advisor to the French Institute in Warsaw (1985-86). Member of the jury of the International Radio Festival Prix Italia (Peruggia 1989). Musical director of the Polish Radio Theatre (1986-97). Editor-in-chief of the journal "Muzyka21" (2000-2001). Since 2005 he has been holding a class of composition in Fryderyk Chopin University of Music/ FCUM/.

Review (Percussive Notes, May 2013)

As an enthusiast of Eckhard Kopetzki’s compositions, I was immediately struck by the opening of this work by Marcin Blazewicz. Intense, arpeggiated octaves begin in unison. While maintaining the same rhythmic identity, the parts are eventually separated by a specific interval, first a minor third, then a tritone. The rhythmic unison eventually gives way to a homophonic texture, where an ominous melody is presented. The second large section, a Valse, provides a nice contrast to the aggressive, persistent nature of the opening. Suddenly transitioning to the original character, sixteenth notes are always present in one voice while the other blocks out highly chromatic octave figures at either quarterpercussive notes 65 MAY 2013 note or eighth-note durations. Building to the climatic ending, an eighth-note triplet run in octaves is passed from one player to the next before reaching a punctuating unison at fortissimo to conclude.

Requiring four-mallet technique from both performers, there is an extensive use of octave intervals mainly executed through double vertical and double lateral strokes. With the difficulties lying in the individual parts, advanced performers will face many challenges with the ensemble. With one performer providing a steady pulse throughout most of the piece, balance and style will likely be a favorite topic of discussion.